Numerical simulation of dynamos on massively parallel computers in cartesian domains

发展对产生和维持地球磁场的机制的理解的目的当然是地球物理学中最具挑战性和最吸引人的问题之一。人们普遍认为，磁场是由工作在地球外核的发电机维持的。在一个复杂的过程中，外核导电材料中的对流电流将动能转化为磁能。虽然人们基本了解行星发电机的内部工作方式，但人们对它的了解却很少。实验室实验无法达到相关参数和规模的问题。由于发电机问题的非线性性质，它与严格的分析方法背道而驰。如今，数值模拟可以用来研究动态自洽发电机，但肯定还处于初级阶段。在这里提出的研究过程中，我们希望应用并进一步发展一个数值模型，以便更好地理解发电机过程，并确定对磁场的时空演化起关键作用的机制。我们的模型方法被设计成在并行计算机上高效运行。这将使我们能够研究广泛的参数。

The aim to develop an understanding of the mechanism which generates and maintains the Earth's magnetic field certainly ranges among the most challenging and fascinating problems in Geophysics. It is commonly believed that the magnetic field is maintained by a dynamo working in the Earth's Outer Core. In a complicated process convection currents in the electrically conducting material of the Outer Core transform kinetic into magnetic energy. While principally understood, the internal way of working of planetary dynamos is only roughly known. Laboratory experiments can not reach the relevant parameters and the scales of the problem. Due to it's nonlinear nature the dynamo problem defies a rigorous analytical approach. Numerical modelling allows today the investigation of dynamically selfconsistent dynamos but is certainly still in an intial phase. In the course of the here proposed research we want to apply and further develop a numerical model in order to better understand the dynamo process and to identify mechanisms which play a keyrole for the spatial-temporal evolution of the magnetic field. Our model approach is designed to run efficiently on parallel computers. This will enable us to study a wide range of parameters.